I'm sitting here on a rainy Vancouver Sunday afternoon, listening to vinyl. That's right, I finally dug out my record collection, restored the alphabetical filing system (more or less) to some sense of order. It took most of last Sunday, as I pored over record covers I haven't seen in several years. The motivation for tuning up the turntable and breaking out the vinyl? My music room is now a reality.
I'm fortunate to have a double garage under the house, thanks to a sloping lot that exposes an extra level at the back. Over several months, with the help of a creative builder/renovator, my 18' X 12.5" room took shape in the back half of one side of the garage. With great care and planning , he built a double drywall room that floats on a Kinetics® deigned suspension system: a kind of "room within a room" concept, including a double ceiling suspended from their patented Wave Hangers. Two heavy slab doors were installed: one swings in, and the other swings out , creating a complete seal using studio harware to contain the sound. The result so far is astounding: in the kitchen immediately above the music room, you cannot hear the music system playing downstairs. Only the occasional sub-woofer impact is detectable, though you wouldn't swear it was in the house as it sounds like it's coming from far away.
I just spent a little time playing with speaker positioning as well, and have found at least two very workable setups for my Klipsch Heresy III's. The one I have settled on for now has them about four feet into the room, and about six feet apart, just barely toed in toward my chair which is five feet from the back wall. The luxury of a dedicated room allows me to position for best sound and not worry about more practical considerations. "Clapton" is on the turntable. This recording has some wonderful acoustic elements and a very natural balance. It has a "studio live" quality to it, like they simply captured what the players did on a particular day. No big studio production, just the performance. The speakers have disappeared, leaving a stage that extends well past the confines of my little room: such is the magic of great stereo. No subwoofer for now, yet the bass extension is quite convincing, but not too thick or heavy. The principles at work here have to do with avoiding boundary effects (that can overemphasized the bass) and wall reflections that can obscure imaging and midrange clarity.
Forgive me if I have inspired feelings of jealousy. I've waited years to have a room where I can set up truly great audio. Suffice to say that the room is a major component in the listening chain, but regardless of what you have to work with, a little patience with setup will go a long way.
So how about "Jeff Beck. Wired" next... and then "The Meters, Struttin'" (brand new copy!) ??
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